Many conventional machining devices include a spindle which rotates a tool at a high speed to perform a milling, grinding, boring or similar machining process. Accurately positioning the tool relative to the part to be machined in these conventional devices is relatively easy because of the spindle. To accurately establish the relative coordinate position of the part, the spindle is rotated around a predetermined feature on the part, for example, a bore hole, a protruding hub, or a milled pocket and appropriate adjustments are made to the positioning of the spindle so that it is centered with respect to the predetermined feature on the part. Since the orientation and location of the predetermined feature of the part is known relative to the overall morphology of the part, the offset positioning of the machining tool relative to the part can be accurately determined.
However, some types of machining devices such as Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) machines and laser cut machines do not employ a tool mounted in a rotatable spindle to perform the desired milling or cutting operation. Consequently, these types of devices do not have a rotatable spindle which could be used to establish the position of the machining process relative to the part to be machined. For that reason it is often difficult and time consuming to establish accurately the relative position of the machining process and the part of these types of machining devices.
It would be desirable to provide EDM machines, laser cut machines and similar machines with a device which facilitated the accurate relative positioning of a machining process with respect to the part to be machined.